Did you know Thrivent members can take advantage of a $250 Thrivent Action Team grant to equip their churches with Lutheran Hour Ministries resources? When a congregation puts on a fundraiser, educational event, or service activity, Thrivent offers seed dollars to help resource the project.
The Lutheran Laymen's League and Lutheran Hour Ministries have been a part of the ministry of Zion Lutheran Church in El Paso, Texas, for many years. Pastor Stephen Heimer has personally used LHM materials and programming since 2001 and has used them in his church since becoming a pastor there in 2011.
One of the main ways Zion uses LHM resources is through their Project Connect booklet display. Originally purchased with a Thrivent Action Team grant, the Project Connect display has been available at the church for about eight years.
Pastor Heimer shared the impact the Project Connect rack has made on not only their members, but on visitors as well. One Sunday, Zion's organist invited a guest musician to come play during their worship service. The musician's husband had recently passed away, and she was grieving. While she was at Zion that Sunday, she picked up one of LHM's booklets on grief and took it home with her. The next week, she went back to Zion, not as a guest musician, but as a visitor to worship.
"She wanted to let us know that this LHM booklet about grief was the first publication that was helpful to her," says Heimer. "She had read some materials about grief that she found at other churches, but she was so thankful for this particular one and wanted us to know it. Our organist eagerly took home more of the booklets to share with other people he knew were going through a difficult time of loss."
In addition to the Project Connect display, Zion has implemented other LHM resources into its programs and communications, including videos, Bible studies, Daily Devotions, links to Spanish resources, and more.
The Households of Faith and Gifted for More materials, based on research done in partnership with Barna Group, have served as an outline for a new sermon series as well as stewardship purposes.
"I'm glad to have all the LHM materials available to scatter like seed among my members and the community, praying that people will utilize them even if I never hear about it," says Heimer.
You can bring hope to your community by utilizing a Thrivent Action Team grant to set up a booklet display. Beyond your church narthex or fellowship hall, Project Connect displays are a great resource for community recreational centers, doctors' and dentists' offices, funeral homes, and other locations where a lot of people visit. To learn more about Project Connect, visit lhm.org/projectconnect. To find out more about Thrivent Action Grants, visit thrivent.com/about-us/membership/thrivent-action-teams.